Ex-NRL player wins preliminary court battle against former club

James McManus, a former Newcastle Knights player who was forced to retire due to repeated concussions, has won a preliminary court battle against the club.

McManus’ legal team asked the New South Wales Supreme Court for medical documents involving a number of players who had sustained concussion injuries.

Newcastle will have to hand over the records, which include those of Richard Fa’aoso and Robbie Rochow.

Current Huddersfield coach Rick Stone, who was Fa’aoso’s coach during the 2011 season, will have his report of the incident made available by the club.

This will also be the case for Wayne Bennett, current Brisbane and England boss, as he was the coach of Rochow in 2013.

The Knights claimed there was no legitimate reason to give McManus the medical records but that was thrown out in court.

McManus is suing the club after failing to monitor the concussion properly, exposing him to the danger on regular occasions and the player also being medically assessed by untrained staff.

“He also contends that he should have been warned of the risks of playing when concussed or doing so when recovering from concussion but that he was not,” Justice Ian Harrison said, reported by the Australian Associated Press.

McManus retired from the sport in August 2016, his final game coming against South Sydney Rabbitohs a year prior.